A woman has been jailed for three years after police discovered 2,000 rounds of ammunition, hand grenades and other explosives in her house.

Heather Exley, 44, appeared at Leeds Crown Court, where a judge was told that the hoard of explosives posed a clear danger to a residential area but her motivation for keeping such a collection was unclear.

Specialists from the North East Counter Terrorism Unit spent a number of days searching her house in Liversedge, West Yorkshire, in April 2014 as part of a drugs inquiry.

They found hundreds of rounds of ammunition - including cartridges, hollow point bullets and soft nose bullets - improvised hand grenades, partially-constructed hand grenades, improvised detonators, the explosive PETN and other explosive material.

In November last year Exley pleaded guilty to 10 offences regarding the explosives and three regarding the ammunition.

Detective Chief Superintendent Clive Wain, head of the North East Counter Terrorism Unit, said he hoped that the case sent "a message" to the public about the seriousness of having "highly-volatile chemicals and explosives".

He added: "Exley had stored these chemicals and explosives in a house in a well-populated residential area and there is no knowing what might have happened had they been ignited, either accidentally or deliberately.

Image Caption:Pistol clips found at the home

"It is still not clear what Exley's motives were for obtaining the chemicals, or possessing large quantities of ammunition without the appropriate certification.

"Whether it was a fascination with explosives and firearms, or her intention was more concerning, thankfully the items were removed before any further steps could be taken."